Attachment for automatically operating pianos.



No. 629,103. Patented my la, |899. G. H. nAvls.

ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING PIANS.

"Application led Mat. 1G, 1897.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

' IHMMHT wm- Patented July I8, |899.

No. 629,|o3.

G. H. DAVIS. ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING PIANOS.

(Application led Har. 161897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES:

ATTORN EYS no, morouwo. msmNsmN nv c UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

GEORGE HOWLETT DAVIS, OE NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO TIlE PIANOPHONE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

ATTACHMENT FOR AIUTOMATICALLY OPERATING PIANOS.

SPECIFICATION formingl part of Letters Patent No. 629,103, dated July 18, 1899.

Application filed March 16, 1897. Serial No.r627,899. (Noinodel.)

To all whom t may concern;

Be it known that l, GEORGE HOWLETT DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new, useful, and valuable Improvement in Attachments for Automatically Operating lianos, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My present in vention relates to attachments 'for automatically operating pianos, and particularly to that class of devices which employ pneumatics in the whole or part, and my presentimprovement maybe termed a semipneumatic77 device, as pneumatics are employed only in the initial orindicative power.

My invention has for its object to provide an attachment which when compared with others of its class will be pronounced to be decidedly simple, practical, and economical of construction.

As a further object my invention has to provide an attachment which can be applied to any ordinary piano within a few hours and without removal of piano from a purehasers residence.

Asa further object my invention has toy provide an attachment which can be applied to any ordinary piano without cutting, mar-v ring, or defacing it in the least.

As a `further object my invention has to dispense with any ordinarily-visible parts, such as a large and clumsy music-holder projecting for a foot or more downwardly from the front of the keyboard, my in usic-holder only becoming` visible by getting down and looking under the keyboard.

As a further object my invention has to provide means for attaching the rear of the piano-keys with greater rapidity and decision than any device operated entirely by pneumatics and yet when not in use to leave the keys perfectly free to be operated manually.

As a further object my invention has for its object to provide a device which can be operated by foot-power without undue exertion and yet, when it is desired, produce a strong decisive percussion blow as distinct from the pneumatic piano attachments now on the market.`

view of my improved shoe.

The objections above referred to and which this invention overcomes actually exist in all pneumatic devices now on the market, particularly in those operated by foot-power, and it is mainly bythe proper use and combination of centrifugal force, together with an ingenious arrangement of cooperating` parts and theirindividual special construetio'inthat l attain the many advantages above stated, all of which will be hereinafter fully described.

Iy am fully aware that the utilization of cen'- trifugal force derived from a shoe and drum is old in many arts, that it has been donemeehanically and electrically, as will appear from my United States Pate nt No. 546,582, dated September 17, 1895, and from my several allowed applications, and that it has been attempted pneumatically, but in the latter instance without success, owing to the lack of the special combination of parts herein covered, and to which l will limit 'the claims concluding this specilication, thus disclaiming any rights as a pioneer inventor, but yet seeking such breadth of claims as will protect me ina just use of my improvements.

To these ends my invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and in which Figure l is a transverse vertical section of my complete attachment. Fig. 2 isa front view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective Fig. et is an enlarged'detailed view of the upper end of my key-striking rod. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of my music-holder frame and music-spools. Fig. G is a view in elevation ofthe mechanism preferably employed for driving and governing the take-up roller, portions of the frame being broken away forthe. sake of clearness. Fig. 7 shows a different type of actuating mechanism for the driving and governing device shown in Eig. G. Eig. 8 shows a modified form of friction-shoe.

Proceeding with a detail description of my im provements,frequent reference being given to the-accompanying drawings, on which I have placed numerals of reference, those recurring in two or more views indicating the IOO same parts differently shown, I will first call' attention to the parts which are old, the same being the drum l, journaled in the supporting-brackets the d riving-pulley or fly-wheel 3, the cranked shaft t, the pitman 5, and pedals all connected as shown and needing no further explanation, as I do not propose to claim them except in combination. Directly above the said d ru m I is an angle-lever 7, commonly called a shoe, and to which latter designation I shall adhere throughout the remainder of this specitication. Said shoe 7 is of special construction, being formed of one piece of wood, as shown in Fig. 3, is preferably faced with cloth or leather S on its surface next the drum, and is recessed at its upper portion to receive the inner end of the lever tl and the lower end of the striker-,rod or sticker IO, both bearing upon the pins ll l2, as shown. rlhis shoe is made much smaller than usual, and to further lighten it I bore a hole 13 through its body. The advantages of this shoe are its extreme lightness, which allows it to be thrown in and out of contact with the drum quicker and with the minimum power, its smallness, which cconomizes space, and its integrality, which renders it far less liable to warp or fall apart than the ordinary wood shoes made of three pieces glued together. The lever t), carrying the said shoe at its inner end, is pivoted in the cleat Il, adjustably secured on the metal angle-iron Al5 by the screw l0, all as clearly shown in Fig. I. It will be seen that by thus adjustably mounting the beller-ank levers 9 on the support I5 the position of the shoes 7 relative to the d rum l may be varied at will, so as to secure the proper operative relation between the drum and shoe without changing the connections between the shoe 7an d its operatinglever 9 and key-lever IO.

To the front end of the upper bell-crank lever 9 is adjustably secured the lower end of the tracker 17, the upper end ol' which extends through the loweiI board I8 of the pneumatic-chamber I9 and connects to the toe or movable end 2t) of the pneumatic 2l, said tracker being provided with the usual puppet-valves o 223 to prevent any but a slight and momentary communication between .the said pneumatic-chamber if) and the outer atmosphere. The bell-crank lever D", like the lower one, t), pivots in a cleat 14, secured to an angle-rail l5, the lower end of said lever Si engaging the upper end of the lower lever 9 and indirectly the upper lever 9, being always returned to their normal positions by the coil-spring Db. Employing the exhaust system, the said chamber It), containing` a series of pneu matics il, all connected to their respective slices 7, as explained, is kept exhausted to the usual degree by the centrallylocated bellows 2i, communicating therewith through the tube 25, faced with the ordinary Hap-valve 20, all as clearly shown in Fig. l.

Disposed at each side of the bellows 2t and communicating therewith through the chamher 2l) and inlets 27 are two exhausters 2t) O, having the outer ends of their-free boards i232 connected bythe pitmen St to cranks 36 in the ends of the drum I, which obviously upon being revolved by foot-power, electric motor, or otherwise alternately opens and closes the two exhausters, which in turn contract the bellows 2l against its springs 37 38,and this bellows in tu rn exhausts the chamber It), but with greaterrapidity, owing tothe action of the sp1-ings 37 3S, as is well known to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. Projecting outwardly is a board Si), which acts as a base-board for my entire action, also as the top board for the chamber lt), also as a base for the supl'iortingbrackets 2, and also as a channel-board to coilnect the inlets -l-O of the tracker-board -l-I with their respective pneumatics 2l, thc ducts ii being readily traceable on Fig. l. Arranged on either side of said tracker-board -ll are the usual forms of delivery and take-up spools it, supported in the stationary frame l?, screwed to the base-board 3h, as clearly shown. The take-up roller takes motion from the shaft Ithconnccted to the drum l in any suitable way, but preferably through the spring-motor and governing mechanism to be hereinafter described, and I may further provide this roller with a centrally-secured elastic cord i7, having a hook I8 at its free end, so that in securing the front end of the music-sheet to the takeup roller a person can reach under and draw the hook #i8 toward him su l'ticicntly far to conveniently hook it to the loop on the end of the music-sheet, which is then drawn into position iirst by the contraction of the cord -t7 and later by the movement of the take-up roller.

Assuming now that the driving mechanism has been put in motion through the operation of the foot-pedals, that the chamber 19 is under proper exhaust, and that the note-sheet or 1n usic-sheet t0, with properly-arranged perforations therein, is slowly propelled forward, then whenever a perforation passes over an inlet -tO the duct 42, which said inlet controls and hitherto kept in partial vacuum by the imperforated portion of the music-sheet, is suddenly filled with outside air, and its pneumatic 2l succumbs to the tendency of the exhausted chamber It), and being hinged at the point 50 its movable end acts on the stickerrod 17 and through the levers 9 9 forces the shoe 7 into contact with the revolving drum I, which instantly throws the shoe over and causes the upper end 5I of the sticker IO to raise the rear end of the key 52 and sound the note, all these parts instantly assuming their normal positions when the perforation has passed the inlet 40.

The upper end or cap 5I of the sticker or striker rod IO (see Fig. 4) is supported upon a stiff coil-spring 53, the lower half of which incases the extreme upper end 5t of said sticker and is prevented from being forced farther down over the same by a drop of sol- IIO der 55 upon the said sticker, which is of metal, or if it be of wood then the spring may be secured by sliouldering its upper end by tightly winding the lower end of the spring about the wood or in any other suitable way.

If it be desired to increase the size and strength of the pneumatics 2l, I may double their width by arranging them in two series in the same chamber, so as to alternate with each other, or I may provide a second chamber directly under the chamber I9 and arrange the second alternating set therein. However, as the pneumatics in this case have but a slight function to perform-Z1 e., moving the shoe 7 only one thirty-second of an inch-these pneumatics when properly constructed one-half of an inch wide and llive inches long will do the work required of them.

In the many devices wherein the powerpneumatic controlled byaprimary pneu matic directly attacks the key such power-pneumatics must of necessity require a comparativelygreat amount of pressure or exhaust to actuate them, and hence three or more large exhausters operated at a high rate and with an expenditure of power equal to about onesixth horse-power is necessary, whereas in my device my pneumatics require approximately but one-tenth the power of an ordinary powerpneumatic, and hence two exhausters worked slowly will properly exhaust them. The ninetenths of the power thus saved is only partially expended in rapidly revolving the drum l, which in reality is an elongated fly-wheel and known to all expert mechanics to more than compensate by its momentum and equalizing effects for `the extremely-slight force required to keep itin revolution, and itis further known that one or more shoes, such as shown here, do not materially retard said drum or fly-wheel upon engaging its periphery.

rlhe many advantages of so arranging the parts herein shown so as to occupyonlysuch space in a piano as is usually wasted-if. e., the space under the keyboard and between the iron string-frame 56, the bottom front board 57, and the base-board S-appear so obvious as to require no further explanation, particularly when it is considered that after many years of effort no pneumatic device has ever yet been put on the market which can be applied to a piano without considerably enlarging its dimensions, nor has any other semipneumatic device accomplished this end.

I will now describe the preferred means for giving motion to the shaft 46, which drives the take-'up roller 4:4. Said shaft a6, having the pinion (38, meshing with the gear 69 of the take-up roller 44, (see Fig. 5,) is extended through and beyond the right-hand supporting-bracket 2 to a supplemental bracket 59. (See Fig. 6;) Revolubly located upon said shaft -16 intermediate of the brackets 2 59 is a grooved pulley GO, guided on the right by the fixed collar Gl and driven directly from the drum I through the medium of the conpeeling-belt (i7. Located to the left of the said pulley (i0 is a flat coil-spring 62, which has its inner end secured to the shaft 46 and its outer end connected te a pin G6, secured to said pulley GO. Upon said shaft 4t, near the bracket 5.9,is also secured a gear (33, which meshes with a small gear (il, fixed to an auxiliary shaft 65, which also carries a stationary collar 66 and a sliding collar G7, the latter havinga flange 71. Four thin flat springs 72, having the weights 78 afxed to each, connect the said collars 66 G7, the movable collar G7 being caused to slide toward the stationary collar G16 whenever the carrying-shaft 65 is rapidly revolved, owing to the action of the weights 73, as is common in all forms of similar centrifugal governors. In the path of movement of said liange7l I arrange a brake 74, which is adjustably secured upon the sliding rod 75, the friction-point 76 of said brake bein g preferably formed of a small tough piece of rawhide fixed to the end of a thumbscrew 77, thus giving several means of adjustment to said brake and preventing noise when said friction-point is in contact with the iiange 7l. The sliding rod 75 is so connected and arranged as to be under the control of the hand of the operator, it being preferable to so arrange the operating-knob 7S and lever 70 as to require a considerable movement of said knob to eifect a slight movement of the brake 74.

The especial function of the spring-motor and governing mechanism just described is to prevent any irregularity, acceleration, or retardation in the revolution or movement of the drum or other propellingmechanism from being transferred directly and immediately to the music-sheet, which would occur if the take-u p roller were belted directly to the drum 1, whereas under the arrangement I have` j ust described the spring G2 receives and stores the movement of the drum through theloose pulley 60, which tends to wind up said spring from the outside, while the governing meehanism located upon the auxiliary shaft 65 controls at the will of the operator the speed of revolution of the driving-shaft 46 and thence the movement of the music-sheet, it being obvious that the set or position of the manually-adjustable brake 74 governs, first, the movement of the flange 7l; second, the revolution of the auxiliary shaft; third, the main shaft 46, geared thereto and normally tending to overcome the governor or brake, and, fourth, the rate of travel of the music-sheet, which latter represents the tempo of the m usie, the latter heretofore having been imperfectly accomplished in ali other forms of musical instruments, in all of which the movement of the music-sheet is more or less ailii'ected by the irregularity of the initial power.

In Fig. 7 Ihave shown how my spring-motor and governing mechanism maybe utilized in instruments which have no revoluble parts connected with the initial power, such as footpower applied to two foot-pedals, as SO. In such a case I extend a connecting-rod Si. up

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from one or both of the pedals SO to an arm 82, carrying a pawl S3, the retaining-pawl Si holding any wind-giver, and the outer end S5 of the spring G2 being connected to the arm Se', extended from the ratchet S7. This method of transforming from a reciprocating to arotary motion is too old and well known to require Vfurther explanation in this case. Instead of employing a pawl and ratchet I may employ any form of clutch, preferably of a noiscless form.

In Fig. S I have shown a modilied form of friction-shoe 7', in which I employ a stiff wire S7 of the form shown, running across the top edge of the shoe, and the purpose of which is to provide means upon which the lower end of the striker-rod I0 can slide backward or forward thereon, according to the position of the shoe. When the shoe is in its normal position, the striker-rod will restat the outer end SS of the wire; but upon the shoe being thrown into action the inner end S!) of the wire will be lower than the outer endSS, and while the striker-rod will remain at point SS until the initial blow is struck, owing to the extreme rapidity of movement of the shoe, yet during sustained notes it will have time to slide down to point S9 during most of the time, and thus because of the change of leverage the drum l will not have to exert so much power through frietional contact to sustain the shoe in a raised position, and when, say, fifteen shoes are bearing upon the roller at one time the power required to keep them, together with the superimposed pianoactions, raised is considerable and frequently retards the revolution of the drum l to a noticeable extent.

Having now particularly described my invention and its modus operanch', what I claim as new is- I. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination with a revoluble driving-drum, of a series of lever-shoes in proximity to said drinn, but normally out of contact therewith, a series of bell-crank levers from which said lever-shoes are suspended, means for operating said bell-crank levers to throw said shoes into contact with said drum, and hey-levers or striker-rods so connected with said levershoes as that after the initial blow of said lever-shoe the point of connection between said shoe and hey-lever will be changed so as to change the leverage exerted on the shoe by the drum and relieve the latter from excessive strain during sustained notes.

2. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination with a revolnble driving-drinn, of a series of lever-shoes in operative relation to said drum but normally out of contact therewith, means for thro wing said shoes into contact with said drum, a series of strikerrods or hey-levers and connections between said lever-shoes and key-levers so as that the leverage exerted on said hey-levers by said shoes is changed after the initial blow of the shoe and the drum is relieved of excessive strain and consequent retardation during sustained notes.

In an automaticallyoperated musical instrument controlled by a perforated musicsheet, a take-up roller provided with an elastic cord having one end centrally secured thereto, the other end of said cord being provided with means forsecuringto end of music-sheet.

i. In a musical instrument of the class described, the combination with the deliveryroller on which the note-sheet is wound, of a take-up roller, and means for securing the note-sheet to said take-up roller, said notesheet-securing means acting to draw the notcsheet taut and into operative relation to the tracker-board immediately said sheet and take-up roller are connected and before the take-up mechanism is started.

In a musical instrument of the class described, the combination with the deliveryroller on which the note-sheet is wound, of a take-up roller provided with an elastic connection for securing the note-sheet so as that said sheet will be drawn taut and into operative relation to the tracker-board immediately the connection between the take-up roller and note-sheet is made.

(i. In a musical instrument, the combination with a revoluble driving-drum, of a lever-shoe cooperating therewith, said shoe being recessed at its top to receive the supporting-lever, and a striker-rod connected with said shoe so as to have a horizontal sliding movement toward and from the said supporting-lever.

'7. In a musical instrument a striker-rod, the striking end of whiehis sui-mounted by a coiled spring and the spring surmounted by av cap secured by the spring and removed, normally, away from the end of the striker-rod.

S. In a musical instrument, the combination with a revoluble drum of a lever-shoe adapted to engage the periphery of said drinn and having a wire across its upper edge upon which the lower end of a striker -rod can move toward or away from the hinged point of the shoe according to the position of the latter.

9. In a musical instrument of the class described, the combination with a perforated music-sheet, of delivery and take-up rollers for said sheet, a shaft geared to said take-up roller, a pulley loosely mounted on said shaft, means for driving said pulley, a coiled spring having one end secured to the said pulley and the other end secured to said shaft, a countershaft geared to said first-named shaft, a centrifugal governor on said counter-shaft, a sliding` collaraetuated by said governor, and a friction-point under the control of the operator to engage said collar and retard the speed of said motor, as desired.

In testimony whereof I alti); my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

G. IIOIVLEI.v1 DAVIS. fitnessesz D. How-*ARD Hsvwoon, E. M. Ynoimxs.

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